


Can't Run Away From What I Am

by GypseyDanger



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Bookworm Cora, Danny is so loveable and an all around nice guy, F/F, F/M, Good Peter, Jealousy, Lydia is the New Girl, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Original Hale Character(s) - Freeform, Rating May Change, Rebellious Cora, Slow Burn, Smoking, Tags May Change, Werewolf Discrimination
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-03-18 17:48:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3578424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GypseyDanger/pseuds/GypseyDanger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I want to wake up automatically knowing that my life means something. I don't want to have to give myself reasons. I don't want to have to worry about it. That's why, I envy people who have the fame and fans. It's much easier to..."cure" your mind of thoughts like mine. You don't need reassurances, you just know." Cora takes a sip of her beer and frowns to herself.</p><p>Lydia purses her lips, leaning against Cora and laying her head on her shoulder. "Your life means something to me."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Much Cooler Than Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “All things truly wicked start from innocence.”  
> ― Ernest Hemingway

Jackson Whittemore was the kind of kid who was, essentially the rich snob. He was the kid who thought he was better than everyone else just because he had the 64 pack of crayons and all the others in class had the 24 pack. Of course, Cora disliked him because of his attitude, but she also disliked him because of his natural scent. It was irritating to her, a stomach churning mix of the inside of a new car, battery acid, and axe body spray.

 

She would say that the third grade was the year he had fully evolved into the bratty little piece of shit a lot would hate and/or envy in the future.

 

Cora was always quiet in class, choosing to be the invisible one who sat in the back and didn't answer questions. She didn't have friends and she didn't attempt at making any. So, it was a bit of a surprise when she was Jackson's first victim. She had never talked to him before that day.

 

"Are you a dog?" Jackson had asked her. Cora had shaken her head and continued to work on the homework assigned to them in class, not even glancing at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him move and then felt something nudge her shoulder. Looking down at her arm, she noted that it was a ruler he was holding out to poke her with. "I'm not going to touch you because Mom said I could rabies if you bit me."

 

Her brow furrowed and she met his eyes. "I'm not a dog and we can't get sick."

 

"Yeah, I know you can't get sick, but you can give me rabies, because that's what some dogs do." He smirked when she glared angrily at him. "You're a fleabag just like the rest of your family."

 

Cora's temper flared and she just barely resisted the urge to wipe that smug look off of Jackson's face.

 

She reminded herself of what her father taught her when calming down: deep breaths and counting to ten. Closing her eyes, Cora inhaled deeply, counting under her breath.

 

Jackson made a face. "What are you doing? Is this some weird ritual you and your pack of dogs practice in your cave?" He sneered.

 

She opened her eyes, letting out a low growl and stood from her seat. "Stop saying that. We're not dogs!" Cora's hands shot out, landing on his chest and pushing him. He stumbled backwards, landing on his back, elbows breaking his fall.

 

She breathed heavily, eyes trained on Jackson to make sure he didn't try getting on his feet. His eyes widened fearfully as he scooted even farther away from her.

 

"Y-your eyes..." He stuttered.

 

"Cora!" Her teacher was heading her way, frowning at her. "Principal's office, young lady!"

 

Cora noticed that, behind her, the whole class was staring at the scene, a few laughing, yet most were shocked and the whole class smelt of fear.

 

Not wanting to face the embarrassment of her outburst any longer, Cora bolted out of the classroom. As she ran, she could hear her teacher's high heels clacking against the ground as she called her name.

 

She ran off of the playground and through the woods for what felt like hours before she slowed to a stop. She could still feel her blood boiling with anger at Jackson. Her eyes were probably still icy blue.

 

Cora sat down by a tree on the forest floor. She glanced around, taking in the fallen trees and leaves.

 

Being the middle child was hard. She knew her parents loved her. They made it evident that they loved she and her siblings all equally, so that wasn't the problem. The problem with being the middle child is that she didn't get her parent's attention as much as she used to.

 

Laura was playing soccer and everyday after school, she'd practice with their father for two hours before he took her to get a smoothie afterwards. Derek was always working on various projects for school and, lately, their mother was helping him practice words for a spelling bee. Cora's younger brother, Nathan, was only three. He had hit that age where he tended to cling to their father and copy his every move. The youngest of the siblings, Danielle, was only a baby, so it was obvious that she needed Talia's attention the most.

 

But Cora, she didn't have any excuses to spend time with them. She didn't need their help with any projects, because she never bothered to do them. The homework was hard for her and she didn't want to bother her parents with adding the fact that she needed help with school to their busy schedule. Most of her time was spent reading out in the forest by herself.

 

The one person who actually did have time for her was probably Uncle Peter. He visited from time to time, sometimes taking a few minutes to read with Cora out in the forest, but then he'd get called by Derek to play football or Talia would have meetings with him and Cora's father.

 

Cora was brought out of her thoughts with the sound of leaves being crushed by feet in the distance, heading for her from the direction of the school.

 

Her father's voice called out to her, "Cora, come on, I know you're here." She held her breath and stayed still, hoping he would think she wasn't there and go off somewhere else. "I can hear your heartbeat. There's no use in trying to trick me." He came into her view, dressed in faded jeans, converse, and a black button up shirt.

 

Cora criss-crossed her legs and stared down at the ground. "How'd you find me?"

 

He stood a few feet away from her. "It seems you're forgetting that we're werewolves and Daddy has an impeccable sense of smell." She didn't say anything. "You wanna tell me what happened?" She shook her head at him. Caleb sighed and sat down beside her, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "You're teacher said you were bullying Jackson."

 

Cora looked at him in shock. "I didn't. He started it," she defended herself. "Jackson called me a dog, then he poked me with a ruler and called you and Mom and everyone else fleabags. I was mad and tried calming down, like you taught me, but he wouldn't stop...then I pushed him."

 

He nodded in understanding. "It's good that you tried calming down, but regardless, you shouldn't have pushed him."

 

"But-"

 

"No buts," he cut her off. "Pushing people is unacceptable, no matter what reason you have. I know it was hard for you to control your emotions and we'll work more on that later." He bit his lip in concentration. "No reading in the forest for a week."

 

Cora shook her head worriedly. "Please, no, Dad. Take away my TV, or-or...anything else," she pleaded.

 

He shrugged. "Cora, that's the only thing I can think of. You rarely watch TV. All of your time is spent doing homework and reading in the forest, so no books in the forest for one week." She felt tears prickling at her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of her father, so, she held them in. "You're going to apologize to that boy when we go back to the school."

 

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed.

 

Caleb pursed his lips and stood, holding out a hand to help her up. She took his hand and followed him a few steps behind. Cora really didn't want to apologize to Jackson. Though, she knew if she didn't, she'd be in even more trouble with her mother than she already was. She was much more afraid of her mother than she was her father.

 

Cora watched her feet crushing the leaves and sticks. "Is Mom mad?"

 

"I wouldn't say that," her father replies.

 

"Did Mom bring Nathan and Danny?"

 

He smiled to himself. "Yep, almost wasn't able to leave because I had to pry Nate off my leg."

 

A bit of jealousy flares up inside of Cora, but she ignores it and continues walking with her father.

 

* * *

 

Jackson is standing in front of his parents when Cora and her father arrive in Principal's office. He has a hurt look on his face as his mother speaks with the Principal. Cora knows that he's faking it. She didn't even push him that hard.

 

Cora can't help but notice that Jackson's parents are dressed in very expensive clothing. His father is wearing a dark blue suit and on his right wrist is a gold watch that gleams when it catches the light. His mother is dressed in a white dress that hugs her figure and cuts off right above her knee.

 

"This is the behavior of a Neanderthal, Ted. Is this what you exhibit as good behavior to all students?" Jackson's mother has her hands on her hips. "She hurt our boy. I want something to be done," she demands.

 

Principal Withers drums his fingers against the surface of the wood desk. "Violence is not tolerated in our school, Mr. and Mrs. Hale." He turns to Cora. "Cora, I'm giving you a strike. One more and you'll be suspended. Two more and you'll be expelled. Now, I don't want to hear of anymore shoving, am I clear?" Cora nods.

 

Jackson's mother still isn't satisfied with the result. "That's all? She could have killed Jackson and the most you're doing is giving her a strike and a _warning_?"

 

"I can't expel her, Mrs. Whittemore. She hasn't done anything that makes expulsion eligible," the Principal explains. "What more is it that you want?"

 

"I want it guaranteed that our son will be safe around the...girl. At the moment, it doesn't seem like you care that much about his safety, Ted."

 

Withers rubs his eyes in frustration. "Mrs. Whittemore, please, if you would care to make suggestions, make them when the Hales aren't in the room."

 

"Oh, you bet I will," she promises. Cora has a hunch that she's not finished talking. "I have a suggestion right now, actually. Why don't you just enroll Cora into one of those all werewolf schools, so she's with her own kind."

 

Cora's mother, who had been calmly sitting in the chair set in front of Principal Withers desk, finally spoke up. "Mrs. Whittemore, I can assure you, we will be dealing with Cora's behavior thoroughly. Jackson is and was in no harm. Cora is simply just reacting to new feelings all werewolves go through when maturing at this age."

 

Jackson's mother seemed slightly taken aback by Talia speaking. "Well...good. You just better make sure she doesn't lay a hand on my son again or you'll be hearing from me and my husband with a lawsuit against you," she stated with an effort of authority.

 

"Very well," her mother sounded like she was dismissing Mrs. Whittemore instead of the other way around. Talia looked Cora in the eye and gave a subtle gesture with her head, queuing Cora's apology to Jackson.

 

Cora sigh heavily and straightened herself. She took a few steps towards Jackson but stopped when his mother pulled him closer to her. "I'm deeply sorry for hurting you, Jackson. I promise it will never happen again and if it does, I'll take full responsibility for my actions."

 

Jackson hummed. "Apology accepted."

 

"Come on, Jackson. We'll go to the store and you can pick out something nice," his father said, herding Jackson and his mother along out the door. "We'll discuss this on another day, Withers."

 

"Have a nice day, Cora. I'll see you tomorrow," Jackson said with a tiny smirk.

 

Once the Whittemore's were all the way out the door, Mr. Withers turned back to Cora. "Now, Cora, I'll need your side of the story. Tell me what happened from start to finish, all the details." He gestured for her to sit in the chair beside her mother.

 

Cora slowly (cautiously) sat down. "I was doing the math problems Ms. L assigned us and then Jackson came up to me. He called me and my family dogs and fleabags and then I got mad and pushed him."

 

Mr. Withers gave her a morose smile. "It seems you are a victim in this situation as well." He cleared his throat. "I will speak with Jackson and his parents. I know Jackson isn't as innocent as he seems. Although, you must heed my warning. No more trouble."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Ted, we're sorry for the inconvenience. We'll be on our w-"

 

Cora's father was interrupted by a high pitched squeal of, "Daddy!" Nathan came running in as fast as he could, knocking into his father's legs and wrapping his arms around one. "Dad, can we go get 'I cweam after?!"

 

Uncle Peter walked in holding Danielle in her carrier. "Sorry, he slipped out of my hands," he said sheepishly.

 

"It's alright. We're gonna get going anyway, right, Tal?" Caleb picked Nathan up grinning as he yelped with delight.

 

Talia nodded.

 

Cora exhaled. "Do I have to stay the rest of the day?"

 

The Principal shook his head. "The other children in your class are quite worked up. I think it'd be best if we just allow them to settle down the rest of the day."

 

Cora's parents bid her Principal their goodbyes and exited the building with Cora in tow. Peter handed Danielle back to Talia, choosing to fall behind them and follow them beside Cora.

 

"How're you holdin' up, kiddo?" He asked.

 

"Well, Dad said no forest reading for a week and now everyone thinks I'm the freak of the school." Cora kicked a rock, wincing when her toe ached from the stubbing.

 

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, your dad's just doing what dads are supposed to do when their kids get themselves into trouble and you're not a freak, Cor."

 

Cora huffed, giving a pout. "It's not fair, though. How come people think we're weird? There's nothing funny looking about us, is there?"

 

Peter smiled sympathetically at her. "No, there's nothing funny looking about us. And yeah, it isn't fair, but that's just how the world is sometimes. Even if you play by the rules, things don't always go by the book."

 

She leaned against his side, feeling comforted by his warmth. "Why did Jackson think we were dogs? We're much cooler than dogs."

 

"Jackson is ignorant and doesn't understand that every person is different, but that's what makes them special. They're one of a kind. Jackson was also raised in a certain way by certain people who aren't very bright when it comes to others who aren't exactly like them." Peter wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a one armed hug. "Fleabags," he scoffs. "That's a new one. I gotta give the kid props for originality."

 

"Peter," Cora's mother reprimands him.

 

"Tally, there's no need to _bark_ at me. I've gotta get going anyway." He hugs Cora again, giving her a kiss on her forehead and turning to Nathan. "See ya, big man." He high fives Nathan and blows a kiss in Talia and Danielle's direction. "Goodbye, lovely family. I will see you all Friday for dinner."

 

Cora didn't want her uncle to leave so soon. He had been the one who took her mind off the fact that when she was back home, she would have to endure the disappointment of her mother.

 

She sat in the back of the van, Danielle in her carrier and Nathan in his car seat on the other side.The baby was staring at her and cooed when Cora allowed her to play with her hand.

 

"Momma, Daddy, can we go get 'I cweam now?" Nathan asked. He swung his feet forwards and backwards, hitting the bottom of the seat and the back of Caleb's chair.

 

Caleb chuckled. "Not right now, Nate. Maybe we'll all go get ice cream after dinner tonight."

 

"Yeah, all a us 'cept Cora 'cuz she got in twouble," Nathan stated. Though, he backtracked. "Right?"

 

"Nathan, do you remember what we say when we talk about going somewhere for a family night?" Talia spoke up.

 

Nathan nodded, eagerly shouting, "Everyone or no one, 'cuz family doesn't get left behind, right Momma?"

 

"That's right."

 

That didn't answer the question much. So, it meant they all were going to get ice cream later, Cora included, or they all weren't going to get ice cream. Either way, Cora could care less if they did or didn't. She was more concerned over not reading in the forest.

 

The car went to silence, with the only sounds being the car's engine, Nathan's feet hitting the seats, and the gurgling Danielle was making as she drooled all over Cora's fingers.

 

Cora pulls her hand away from Danielle, earning a discontented cry from her sister.

 

"Why's she crying?" Her father questions.

 

She wipes her hand on the side of her pants, ridding of the saliva. "I took my hand away from her."

 

Her father pulled the van in the driveway, parking it in the usual spot. Cora was eager to get to her room and ignore her family for the rest of the day until dinner.

 

She exited the car, jogging up the steps of her porch and opening the front door. Cora sprinted up the stairs, sighing in relief when she got to her door, only to be let down when she heard her father call her back.

 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going, missy?" Her hand paused a few inches away from the door knob. "Get back down here, Cora. You're mother wants to talk to you."

 

Cora trudged back down the stairs, head bowed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father point to the living room. She made her way into the living room, sitting down on the couch across from her mother.

 

It was a deafening silence. Cora didn't try to speak up. She knew that her mother would eventually talk. The quiet was just just an interrogation tactic.

 

Her mother shifted in her spot. "Cora, look at me." Cora slowly lifted her head back up, eyes still downcast. "Look me in the eye." She mustered up the courage and met her mother's eyes. Her mother paused. "I don't blame you and I won't yell at you, if that's what you're worried about."

 

"It's not my fault?" Cora asked timidly.

 

"No, it's not your fault. You're emotions just got the most of you. It happens to most wolves at your age, though, I suppose you'll be much more feistier than Derek when you turn his age." Talia stood and sat next to Cora, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll get you on meds during the school day, so that we won't have to hear anymore from Jackson's parents. Alright?"

 

She nodded at her mother. "Mom, Uncle Peter said that Jackson was raised a certain way...does that mean that others are like him too?"

 

"Cora, you'll understand when you're older that not everyone is nice, but not everyone is like Jackson and his family either. There will be people who tease you because you're different from them. And you shouldn't forget that, no matter how much people bully you, you'll always have your family and the friends you'll make to be there for you." Her mother caresses her face. Cora leans into her touch, feeling content that she's finally able to spend one on one time with her mother. "I know that I'm always busy with your siblings, but if you ever feel left out, just tell me."

 

Cora shook her head. "I don't want you be even more busy, so, it's okay, Mom."

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yes," and Cora did mean it. She didn't want to have her mother waste time on her when she could be doing things much more important with her time. "I'm gonna go and do my homework." She jumped up from her spot.

 

"Don't take your shoes off, we're getting ice cream later," Talia said as Cora ran out of the room.


	2. Coughing Up a Storm

**7 Years Later...**

 

Cora was never very good at expressing how she felt in words, but she could show it with actions. Though, signs she gave didn't resonate with her family. They misunderstood them, didn't notice, or just flat out ignored them.

 

During the week, her father insisted on a family night. If it had just been her, her parents, and Uncle Peter, then she would've been fully on board. But that wasn't the case. Her father wanted them to go out to dinner. They went to a werewolf friendly restaurant for the night. It was Cora, her parents, Nathan, Danielle, Laura, Derek, and Derek's friend, Braeden.

 

Braeden was much like Derek and Laura combined. She could be blunt and sarcastic like Laura, but the next moment, she'd be quiet and almost brooding like Derek. She had scars running from the bottom left of her jaw, down her throat and to her chest. They were in the shape of claw marks, indicating she had been attacked by a werewolf at some point in her life.

 

Cora was uncomfortable in the diner. She was crowded next to her siblings and the unfamiliar wolf scents upset her nose. She kept sneezing and her hair was standing on edge. She was tense, snapping at people when they asked her questions. Cora tried, she really tried to get the point across to the others that she wasn't comfortable sitting in a full house of a restaurant with lots of noise and new people.

 

She couldn't help but wonder why it is she was so different from her family. Nathan and Danielle were completely fine with the new scents and noises. They weren't bothered one bit by it and they were years younger than Cora. Yet, Cora can't even sit calmly in her seat without going to the bathroom every five minutes to get some peace and quiet to herself.

 

She supposed that the only reason no one noticed her unease was because the place was buzzing with people. The waiters were preoccupied with customers, her mother was busy trying to calm down Nathan and Danielle, who were ignoring her in favor of fighting over a certain color of crayon (blue). Her father was talking colleges with Derek and Laura.

 

Braeden sat silently beside Derek, picking at her food. She looked across the table at Cora who was sitting with taut muscles as she observed her family.

 

Okay, yeah, Cora loved her family, but she didn't like that they couldn't have picked somewhere much more quiet to eat. The whole scene of them sitting around, talking amongst each other was quite domestic. The gave Cora a pang of longing deep in her heart. Which was strange, because this is her _family_. She should be feeling at home, but she's feeling like an outcast.

 

Cora feels something warm and wet fall down her cheek. She touches her face, feeling a tear on the surface of her skin. Quickly, she wipes it away, looking around to make sure no one saw her.

 

Standing up from her seat, Cora excuses herself from the table, giving the excuse that she needs to go to the bathroom again. Instead of going in the bathroom, she swings around the other side of the restaurant to the front exit. Vaguely, she can hear someone following her outside. Cora looks behind her, making eye contact with Braeden.

 

When they're outside and around the side of the building, Cora stops, lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in and faces the girl.

 

"Why'd you follow me out here?" Cora questions her.

 

Braeden shrugs and leans against the side of the building. "You seemed like you needed some company." Her voice was raspy. Her vocal chords had probably taken some beating when she was clawed. She pulls out a carton of cigarettes. "Plus, you didn't seem too fond of all the chaotic noise in there." She lets a cigarette rest between her lips and brings a lighter up to the end, letting the fire burn the paper until it was fully lit. She holds out the carton to Cora. "Want one?" Smoke creeps out of her mouth as she speaks. Cora hesitates. "Oh, come on. You guys don't get sick. No need to worry about lung cancer or any of that shit."

 

"Shouldn't you be worried about cancer? Since you're human?" Cora asks, surprising herself with the harsh tone.

 

Braeden ignores the sharpness and continues to inhale smoke. "If you don't want one then I suggest you find another way to calm yourself down." She glances down pointedly at Cora's hands.

 

It's the first time in a very long time that Cora has semi-transformed on accident in a public place. Usually, if she's tense, she's able to hold out transforming. The last time she had unintentionally transformed was when she was in the seventh grade. Junior high school was also the last time she took her suppressants for the shift.

 

She doubts that she'd be able to take them for help now. Her medication must be weak compared to how strong her body is now that she's no longer.

 

"Last chance for you to take one before I go in." She holds out the carton to her again, a look of boredom on her face. Cora reluctantly gives in, taking a cigarette and holding a hand out for the lighter. "Good choice, kid."

 

Cora holds back a scoff. "I'm not that much younger than you." Braeden shakes her head as she lights the bud of the cigarette for Cora, disregarding her comment. Cora waits, eyeing Braeden before she brings the cigarette up to her mouth. She inhales, grimacing as she rears back coughing. The smoke tickles her chest in an unpleasant way.

 

Braeden chuckles at her, patting her on the back comfortingly. "You okay there? You're coughing up a storm." Not wanting to embarrass herself anymore, Cora nods and stifles her coughing. "Relax. You don't need to pretend to be tough with me okay? I was like you when I first lit one. Now, don't fight it and you'll be fine. Okay?"

 

Cora nods and takes a deep breath before inhaling more of the smoke. This time she allows the smoke to fill her lungs and slowly filter out through her mouth in a cloud. As much as she hates to admit it, the smoking helps to compose her. It takes her mind off of what's been troubling her and makes her focus on how her lungs tighten a bit every time she inhales.

 

Her claws slide back, leaving regular human looking fingernails. She feels the warm sensation of her eyes bleeding back to their original color. Her heart is also back to beating habitually, a strong thump every couple of seconds or so.

 

Braeden is watching her as she exhales smoke from her nose. "Derek's gonna kill me for letting his kid sister smoke a cig," she mutters to herself.

 

 _I'm not a kid_ , she thinks to herself as she blows a cloud downward. "He doesn't care," Cora states. Her nonchalant tone earns her the raise of an eyebrow. "The most he'd do would be tattle to our parents so I could get grounded or something. He doesn't care whether I smoke or not."

 

Braeden hums to herself in concentration as she takes her and Cora's cigarettes and steps on them. "Alright, I think that it's time to go in. Don't want Nathan or someone to come looking for us."

 

Cora bites her lip, abruptly making a plan. "Uh...I'm gonna stay out here. Get a few minutes of fresh air before I go back in."

 

"Whatever. But if you're going to run off, then I will not be seen as a cover for you. Try and throw me under the bus and you'll be sorry. Got it?" Braeden warns her.

 

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," Cora answers. Braeden leaves her outside.

 

She slides her phone out of her pocket, typing in Isaac's name and tapping her foot as the line rings. She sighs in relief when he answers her call.

 

 _"Hello?"_ His voice is weary. Cora knows she woke him up.

 

"Hey, do you think you can come pick me up?"

 

There's a pause. _"Cora, it's 8:30. Why are you out at a diner?"_

 

She scoffs at him. "It's family dinner night. And why are you asleep at 8:30?"

 

"Because I was wrestling Boyd earlier and I'm super tired," he states, yawning over the phone.

 

"Isaac. You're a werewolf," she resists rolling her eyes at him. "Please come pick me up? I can really use you. I almost transformed in a crowded diner not even ten minutes ago."

 

He sighs. "Fine, I'll pick you up. Where are you?" She can hear the sheets rustling over the phone as he gets out of the bed.

 

"Thank you." She eyes down the street. "I'll be in front of the grocery store."

 

"Alright, but the next time we go out for snacks, you're buying." He hangs up the phone without a goodbye.

 

Cora huffs in amusement and takes off in a jog down the street to the grocery store. She's tempted to just get over owing Isaac and buy him a Reese's or something, but she knows that her mother has her credit card monitored on her phone.

 

Isaac pulls up in Boyd's red pick up a few minutes after she called him. He rubs his hands for warmth before opening the door for her.

 

"You know, you're super lucky that I'm a good enough friend who will help you escape the clutches of your family on a school night." He makes a U-turn as he speaks. "I'm risking everything for you. If- no, _when_ your mom finds out that I picked you up from a family dinner, she's going to hand my ass to me on a silver platter."

 

She shakes her head and deigned him a look. "I think we both know that you're overreacting a bit too much, Isaac."

 

"I am no-" He pauses, glancing over at her and then back at the road in confusion. "Did...were you smoking?" Cora avoids making eye contact and opts to stare out the window. "Cora." She doesn't reply. "Cora...do you wanna come back to the house with me?" Her mouth tightens her lips in a straight line and she nods, still avoiding his gaze.

 

* * *

 

Boyd's grandparents were always welcoming of his friends. Which is why Isaac had been staying with them for the past two weeks. They didn't question why he needed a place to stay, they just let him in with open arms. His grandparents treated everyone as their own: making them breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner whenever they were over, doing their laundry, driving them places.

 

It was always a full house at Boyd's. Not only did he have people over 24/7, but his sister Alicia always had one of her friends staying the night too. Cora's spent so much time around Alicia's friends that she knows most of them by their full names.

 

So it didn't come as a surprise when Boyd's grandma offered Cora some leftover roast beef from earlier when they had eaten dinner. His grandma, the ever worrying lady she was, insisted that Cora sit down with the boys and relax while waiting for her plate to be warmed up. She even offered Cora a blanket, but Cora convinced her she didn't need one.

 

Boyd sat beside Isaac and across from his grandpa at the dining room table, dealing out a deck of cards between the three of them.

 

"So, what's been goin' on with you, Missy. It's not very often anymore that we hear you've been having anxiety issues," Boyd's grandfather asks. He pops open a can of Budweiser, checking over his shoulder into the kitchen. He attempts to discreetly take a sip, but is stopped by the clearing of a throat. He slowly looks behind him, eyes wide with innocence as Boyd's grandma shakes her head, hands on her hips. "Aw, come on! Can't I just have one? I swear I'll stop after just this one." She doesn't look convinced. "...and maybe another later in the week."

 

"Give me that." She swipes the can out of his hand and pours it's contents into the sink. "You know you can't be drinking. You have heart problems. The doctor made you promise and I intend to have you keep that promise because that alcohol will give you a damned heart attack." Boyd's grandmother grabs the plate of food off of the kitchen counter and gently sets it down in front of Cora. "There you go, Cora."

 

"Thank you, Gran," she says, observing the plate in front of her. Mashed potatoes, roast beef, bread, and greens. Her stomach rumbles and she begins to dig in. The taste of the beef hits her tongue and Cora has to hold in a groan at how good it tastes. She's not ashamed to say that this is better than anything the diner served.

 

"How're y'all doin' in school? Passing, failing? Hm?" Boyd's grandfather asks them, picking up a card and taking one out of his hand.

 

"Decent. Above a +D and barely making it through," Isaac says. He steals a few of the vegetables off of Cora's plate and pops them in his mouth.

 

Boyd hums, calculating his next move. "I've got all A's. It's looking good for next year. I might be able to take Honors Math or English." He lays out two cards, smirking while his grandpa to cusses loudly. He tosses his hand down on the table, cards flying.

 

Gran pokes her head out from the kitchen, glaring heatedly at him. "Hey! You better watch your language, Harold!"

 

He grumbles under his breath and composes himself, turning back to Cora with an expectant look on his face. "And what about you, Cora? Anything we need to worry about with you?"

 

"I have a -D in math. Probably won't get that up before the end of the year," Cora sulkily pushes her food around the plate, keeping her eyes from meeting Boyd's grandfather's.

 

Boyd's cell phone rings, buzzing through the fabric of his jeans. " _Caaaan you feel the love tonight_?!" It blasts loudly through the speakers and becomes even louder when he pulls it out of his pocket.

 

Isaac gives a loud guffaw and lays his head down on his folded arms. Cora scoffs. "Really, Boyd? Lion King?" She asks over the chuckles of his grandpa and the blaring music coming from his phone.

 

Boyd tries to hide the embarrassment behind a nonchalant shrug and a forced straight face. Though Cora can clearly tell what his actual emotions are by his skin flushing darker.

 

He answers the phone sheepishly while Cora and Isaac continue to quietly laugh. "Hey, you almost here?"

 

 _"I'm at the store picking up the snacks for tomorrow, ask them what they want?"_ Cora hears Erica's voice over the phone.

 

"A bucket of Twizzlers, some gummy bears, a case of soda, a pack of Hershey's, and a case of popcorn."

 

Cora tunes out the conversation and opts to head for the bathroom instead of having to listen to them argue and then end up talking all _lovey-dovey_ to each other. Her phone vibrates in her hand as she walks down the hall, screen lighting up with the notification that she received a text.

 

 _'Where are you?'_ It's from Derek.

 

She opens the message and types out her response. As she's about to hit send, she stops herself. She really doesn't want him or anyone to come get her, but she has a feeling he already knows where she is, so why bother replying at all?

 

"Cora, you okay sleeping on the pull out couch?" She hears Boyd's grandmother yell from the other room.

 

"Yeah, of course, Gran." She shuts her phone off and slides it in her back pocket, heading into the bathroom.


	3. Godspeed

The house lights were on, signaling that everyone was awake. As the truck rolled up in front of the driveway, Cora clenched her fists anxiously.

 

She had hoped that no one would be up so early and she could just sneak in through her window. Yet, as she thought about her previous plan, she realized that even if no one was awake, she wouldn't have succeeded in sneaking back in. Someone would hear her or smell her and immediately inspect further. Truth be told, she just wanted to ignore the consequences, but she knew that the longer she procrastinated the worse the punishment would be.

 

"You sure you wanna go in right now?" Isaac asks. She can tell he's concerned she'll be grounded for life. Although, she knows that while her mom is strict, sometimes her dad or usually her uncle jumps in to soften the blow. "You could always cower, I mean, cowering sounds like the kind of thing I'd do- you know, considering I'm a beta male and all."

 

Cora looks at him in confusion. "Did you seriously just use a reference to meninism?" He shrugs in response. "What the fuck does beta male even mean in those terms? I'm serious, that's the stupidest thing ever."

 

Isaac raises his hands in surrender. "Let's get back to the real topic at hand here. You and I both know that the moment you walk in, you're mom is going to do the _disappointed-but-not-showing-it_ straight face. It's her go to and I guarantee that she can hear me talking at this very moment." His eyes flicker to behind her. Cora turns in her seat, spotting Danielle peaking through the blinds, head moving nodding as an answer. Isaac sighs, cheeks puffing as he does so. "The only thing I'm going to say that's even remotely positive is...godspeed."

 

Cora rolls her eyes. Of course he'd say that. "That's not even positive, Isaac. You're basically saying _good luck, try not to die_."

 

"That's the closest thing I could think of. Now get out and face you're fears, Hale." He unlocks the doors. "I'll see you at school, since I'm going to assume that you'll be on lockdown for the remainder of today and all this week." He gives a salute to her once she's out of the car and repeats, "Godspeed, Cora Hale. We'll remember your courage and sacrifice for the good of principles."

 

She watches as he kicks gear out of park into forward and speeds down the road, tires squealing and making dark marks on the street. While Cora's standing there, she hears the door open and small feet racing down the driveway to her.

 

"Mommy wants you inside," Danielle says.

 

Cora nods. "Okay."

 

She goes to head inside but is stopped by Danielle. "You smell funny."

 

Cora feigns confusion, though she can feel her heart speeding. "Like what?" Danielle's nose was as good as Dad's and Cora had forgotten that smoke stuck to clothes. Even the faintest trace of the smell would alarm any wolf close to her.

 

"You smell like smoke." Danielle's eyes narrow in suspicion.

 

"I went to a bonfire last night." She's just digging herself a bigger hole by lying.

 

Her younger sister shakes her head. "No, this is different. It doesn't smell good, it smells like the stuff Braeden smells like."

 

"Well, we went out to dinner with Braeden last night, didn't we? Maybe that's why I smell weird." Cora sniffs at her shirt, picking up the scent easily. Danielle nods and runs back in the house, with slowly following behind. She can tell that her little sister was smart enough to not question her even further.

 

Inside, she could hear Laura and Derek talking to their parents about how long they were staying.

 

Shutting the door behind her, Cora cringed when the conversation abruptly cut off from the door closing and felt even more embarrassed as she made her way past through the living room and into the kitchen.

 

Nathan was in the living room, laying sideways on the couch with the remote to the TV in one hand and a soda in the other. "You're in trouble," he mocked her, which earned him a flick on the forehead from Cora. "OW! Fucking hell, Cora!"

 

"Nathan, watch your language," Cora hears her father chastised him.

 

Derek stares at her with accusatory eyes over their father's shoulder when she comes into his view (at least, she thinks he does, but that could just be his resting bitch face with everyone). He's braced against the island with Caleb sitting across from him on one of the two barstools.

 

She goes for the refrigerator and Derek gives her a signaling shake of the head, eyes gaze bouncing from her to their mother who was currently washing the dishes and handing them to Laura to dry. She takes his somewhat subtle gesture as a warning to tread lightly and she resists the urge to scoff. As if she didn't know already, though that wouldn't do much good considering her mother already knows she's in the kitchen. Yet, she's too much of a coward to get any closer to Talia and instead stays in her spot and waits for her to acknowledge her presence.

 

Currently, her heartbeat was skyrocketing and in turn, her hands shook unsteadily from the anxiety. Cora was tired of waiting and just wanted to get the stern chastising she was to receive.

 

Cora steeled herself and cleared her throat. "You wanted to see me?" She was surprised her voice was steady enough to only reveal just a bit of the nerves she had built up at the moment. If it were any other situation, she'd be proud over how much she was able to conceal, but in this case, not showing any fear or submission would no doubt make her mother even more ticked off then before.

 

Derek and Caleb collectively froze where they were, tense and waiting for Talia to face Cora. Though, nothing dramatic happened. Talia continued on washing the dishes.

 

Laura snickered from her spot. "Looks like you grew a pair last night, huh?" Cora pursed her lips, glaring at her. "Don't get your panties in a twist. I was teasing."

 

Talia ceased her chore, wiping her hands on a rag and turning around. She appeared calm- a common misconception for those who didn't know her well enough. Cora could see that while she held up a serene front, her mother was actually angry. She couldn't tell how angry she was, but she had a hunch that it was worse than she originally thought.

 

"Laura, why don't you go with Derek and your father to pick up some ice?" Talia suggested, arms crossed and eyes trained on Cora.

 

"Sure thing, Ma." Laura shuffled out along with Caleb and Derek. On their way out, Laura turned the TV off. "C'mon, Nate. We're going to the store."

 

Nathan groaned and lazily got up off of the couch. "Why do I have to go?" He whined. "I want to nap and watch TV today. It's Saturday, this is a lazy day."

 

"Too bad. Let's go."

 

Once all four were out of the house, Talia and Cora finally quit their staredown. Cora was the one to break her gaze, eyes cast down as an act of submission. Her mother tensed and sighed, taking a few steps closer.

 

"Cora." She glanced up at her mother. "Although I am angry, I'm more disappointed than anything." And then came the face Isaac had referred to earlier.

 

It was always the same thing whenever Cora was in trouble. She said she was disappointed and yet, whenever she was, she didn't show her emotions. Cora supposed that's where Derek got the broody and closed off persona from.

 

Except, it irritated Cora that her mother was only that way with _her_. Talia was always loving and comforting with the rest of Cora's siblings, but with Cora, it was always reprimands and the obliviousness towards Cora _clearly_ having emotional issues, which is why she always felt like the odd one out. Though Cora figures that her family as a whole is blind to her problems.

 

"Why did you run off last night?" Her tone was a bit softer, a bit more concerned.

 

"I'm sorry, it's just..." Cora wanted to tell her the truth, she really did. She wanted to say that the sounds were too loud, that she had anxiety that could bring her down to her knees. She wanted to tell her that she didn't feel like she fit into the family, that she felt like an outcast in her own family and would rather be at Boyd's most of the time. Cora wanted to come out with all of that and she would have if her mouth would just say what she wanted it to say. "I felt like having a smoke." Fuck.

 

"A smoke?!" Talia's brow furrowed. "Since when have you ever smoked? How is it...?"

 

"I've been smoking since last month. I've just been careful." Cora shut up. "And it's not a big deal or anything." Cora shut up. "What do you think I spend that cash on?" Cora shut the _fuck_ up!!!

 

Talia's eyes glowed, her voice deep as she spoke, "Up to your room for the rest of the day. Don't come down until dinner." Cora scoffed. (She's dead now.) "I said, up to your room!" The growl sent Cora away and bolting up the stairs, practically with her tail between her legs as Talia paced the kitchen.

 

In her room, Cora sits, trying to steady her heart as she texts Isaac.

 

Cora: **_'Hey.'_**

Fuckweed: _'So, I see you're not dead?'_

Cora: **_'Not yet. But I'm positive that you'll be burying me by the end of the day.'_**

Fuckweed: _'I'm guessing she actually got angry this time. What happened?'_

Cora: ** _'Me and my big mouth is what happened. Instead of telling her how I was feeling last night, I ended up telling her about my smoking...and maybe I lied and said that I've been lighting since last month...and I was possibly a bit rude when she told me to go up to my room.'_**

Fuckweed: _'You're such an idiot. That means no hang out tonight for sure then.'_

Cora: **_'I could always sneak out.'_**

Fuckweed: _'Wow, then you'd be a bigger idiot then I originally thought. Stay at home and try getting back on her good side. At least wait a week or so before doing anything after school/on the weekends with us.'_

Cora: **_'You're an ass.'_**

Fuckweed: _'I think you meant to say "you have a nice ass" right?'_

Cora: **_'We might be able to do something after school next week since there's that study hall. I can always sign up and then we could ditch that and go somewhere for a couple of hours.'_**

Cora: **_'And no, you yourself are an ass.'_**

 

Cora's phone rang, Fuckweed popping up on the screen. _"You know, you're words injure me deeply, Hale."_ Isaac says, feigning hurt.

 

"Boo hoo. Why'd you call me?" Cora questions him.

 

"Because the news I am about to share with you deserves to be heard with the ears and not seen with the eyes." He took a deep breath and paused before saying, "the news I am about to share with you is so important that I'm not sure how you'll be able to handle-"

 

"Get to the fucking point, Isaac," she cuts him off, irritated.

 

"Chill out, will you? So, it's actually not that important, but still, it would do you good to listen. It's the most interesting thing that'll happen in this town since that one time Greenburg got his arm stuck in the claw machine by the grocery store," Isaac states. "I overheard Danny tell Jackson that there's a new girl moving here over the weekend."

 

Cora perked up a bit, closing her door and shutting her window. "Werewolf?"

 

Isaac hesitates. "Ah...no." As Cora is about to object, he hurries to stop her. "Wait, wait, wait. Okay? Just wait before making a snarky comment and hanging up on your best friend." Cora bit her tongue. "Good. I heard she's supposed to be insanely smart. Like MIT material smart."

 

"How sad it is that this is the most interesting news of the year," Cora said sarcastically, practically feeling Isaac's eyeroll through the phone.

 

"She's going to be living a few houses away from Jackson, so we all know how that'll end."

 

There's the rustling on the other line and Cora's brow furrows in confusion. "What are you doing, crumpling a bag over the microphone?"

 

"Nope, just sneaking into my house at the moment. Cam texted me saying he was staying the night at his girlfriend's house and alerted me that Dad's at the lake for a few hours." She hears the sound of a fridge opening. "Figured I'd grab some extra clothes and miscellaneous before I headed back to Boyd's." Cora gets a slight pang in her chest, sympathy for Isaac and his current situation. She's never been good at recovering, so it's not surprising that Isaac can sense her thinking about his life (even through the phone). "Hey, now. None of that. You know I don't like pity."

 

"I'm attempting to empathize, but I can't say that I've ever been put in your situation." Cora sighs, changing the subject as nonchalantly as possible. "So, are you going to be a creep and spy on the new girl?"

 

"Are you kidding me? I may be young and reckless, but I'm not that reckless. If I got picked up by Sheriff Stilinski I'd be raising the chances of me being shipped off to somewhere else." His movement ceased and he huffed. "You know that actually may be better than being stuck in this shit town where all I do is disappoint my father and burden Boyd and his family."

 

Cora groaned. "Will you shut the hell up? You're dad is just an ignorant asshole who doesn't know how to pull his shit together. And you are not a burden to Boyd and his family," she said adamantly. She heard a car door on his side of the line slam shut and then the car starting up loudly.

 

Isaac hummed noncommittally to himself. "Before I go, do you have any words of wisdom for me? Preferably something that applies to our current conversation," he requests.

 

She pauses, quickly thinking before replying. " _Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity_."

 

"Oscar Wilde?"

 

"Albert Einstein," she corrected him.

 

The phone rubbed against his shoulder as he nodded over the call. "Tell your mom that I apologize for aiding you in your grand escape. You were the one who roped me in with your silver tongue," he says suggestively.

 

Cora's face twists in disgust. "Jesus Christ, why do you make it sound so dirty?"

 

"You know you love it, Hale. Now I've seriously gotta stop talking to you I'm about to leave my street and you know how stupid people get when they drive." He drums his fingers on something. "Let's hope that Father doesn't notice I stole a few of his...snacks. Now, bye, bye, Cora. I'll text you later."

 

"...Godspeed, Lahey," she says begrudgingly, although she knows that this will cheer him up a bit, so she can't be too pouty about it.

 

He chuckles. "I knew you couldn't resist. You know, deep down, you're really just a big soft-" She hangs up on him, rolling her eyes and smiling to herself.

 

Her irritation at her own stupidity had dimmed a bit, yet her frustration was still at it's peak and the thoughts buried in the very back of her mind were starting to creep up on her. The depressing thoughts of...no. She was better than that. She didn't need to pity herself. It's not as if she had a situation worse or even equal to Isaac's.

 

Downstairs, she could hear the front door open and the voices of Laura, her father, Derek, and Nathan as they came back in. Cora tuned in more closely to hear what Danielle was saying.

 

 _"Daddy, don't be mean to Cora?"_ Later, when she got time alone with Danielle, she'd thank her little sister. _"Mommy's angry and I don't want Cora to get her feelings hurt."_

 

 _"Uh-huh. And what is it that you don't want me to be mean to Cora about, Pup?"_ Caleb asked.

 

Danielle hesitates before responding. _"I don't think Mommy wants me to tell you,"_ she whispers, it's much too loud to be a whisper though. _"I don't wanna get in trouble."_

 

_"Well then, it looks like Mommy and I will talk about this later. But don't worry, Danny. Daddy won't yell at Cora, alright?"_

 

Cora's more likely to believe he'd be more understanding and less shouty about the whole thing than her mother would be at the moment.

 

 _"Cora's gonna get grounded..."_ Nathan mutters under his breath.

 

Laura punches him in the arm. _"Just because no one's caught you doing anything bad this week doesn't mean you haven't been up to no good. You think I haven't seen you hiding those bags of chips under the sofa cushions?"_

 

 _"Nathan..."_ Talia sighs to herself. _"What did I tell you about the junk food?"_

 

 _"But mom,"_ he whines.

 

Cora ignores the rest, choosing to scroll through the list of available tickets for the Rave next week.


	4. Never Judge a Book By It's Cover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.”  
> ― Mark Twain

Conversations are going on all throughout the classroom. People talking about what they did, asking if there was homework, and a handful discussing about whether or not the new girl would be hot. News travels real fast when you have the help of Danny's snooping skills and more than 2 moving trucks driving into town along with a shiny brand new looking Mercedes trailing behind.

 

Cora yawned as she made her way down the aisle to the back of the classroom where her friends sat in their seats. As per usual, she garnered the attention of some of the students. She ignored their stares, opting to keep her eyes straight ahead instead of letting the staring get to her. This was how it was everyday. She walked in, got glares and looks of disgust from her fellow peers and tried to get through the day without losing her temper and beating the shit out of one of the ignorant teenagers she had to deal with.

 

"How was the weekend? I heard you had your head down for the rest of it since you fucked up royally, Hale." Erica smirked, leaning against the end of her desk as Cora sat down beside Isaac.

 

Cora sighed, taking out her notebook and pencil. "Shitty. I was harassed by my little asshole of a brother and constantly scolded by my mother, though, that's nothing new."

 

Erica raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is that really all that's been happening? It seems hard to believe that you weren't punished."

 

"I'm grounded for a week and a half. No phone when I get home. So, I'll be forced to use my laptop to talk with you guys," Cora states in a sulking matter, arms folded over the desk and head resting on her forearms. Isaac rolled his eyes at her behavior, but wisely chose not to comment. "Since I'm grounded that means no Lacrosse game on Friday."

 

"You think you might be able to leave the house on the weekend?" Erica asks.

 

"Not sure, why?"

 

"Danny invited us to a party on Saturday," the blonde states.

 

Cora's face twists in irritation. "Danny's a nice guy, but with Danny comes Jackson and all his egotistical jock friends. It's not like there are many people here who are actually okay with us at the school. So, what would be the point of going?"

 

After saying his name out loud, Cora realizes that he isn't present. She's got her fingers crossed that he's absent for the day, but in her mind, she knows that the chances of that are minimal. He's never missed a day of school, except for one time where he broke his leg in lacrosse. Even then, he made sure to be back the next day instead of staying home and recovering.

 

Erica opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by Morrell walking into the room. The talking ceased and all eyes were on the woman, some anxiety coming off of people, the ones who didn't know whether or not there was homework. Cora took out her essay, glad she had remembered at last minute to do the assignment an hour before she had left for school.

 

Morrell pursed her lips, surveying the classroom to make sure all the attention was on her before speaking. "Hope you all had a nice weekend because this week is going to be you all translating passages from books into French." There was a collective sigh amongst most, but that was soon turned into annoyed groans. "And for homework all this week, I'll be assigning you books that are written in French and you will write summaries of each chapter. Guess what they'll be in?" One kid- Stiles- let out an anguished sound in the front. Morrell gave a smug smile to him. "Yes, it will in fact all be in French, Mr. Stilinski. You should be okay with that considering you have somewhat of a grasp on the language after finishing up last week's homework, yes?"

 

Cora saw him tense, his leg bouncing in place. "Uhh...no...actually. I didn't do the assignment." Morrell's expression is emotionless as she watches and listens to Stilinski try and lie his way out with a made up excuse. "You see, there was this thing that happened last night and I didn't have time to-"

 

"That's a zero on last night's work, Stiles. If you're going to lie, try not to give away your tell," Morrell cuts him off. She moves onto explain what the classwork for the day.

 

Isaac taps Cora's foot with his own, gaining her attention as he quietly speaks, knowing she'll hear. "Is Jackson absent today?"

 

Cora paused, looked around and listened past the barriers of the wall, hearing the muffled footsteps and voices of Jackson and a girl heading in the class's direction. Cora gave Isaac a knowing look and he nodded, a disappointed sigh escaping him.

 

The door swung open, Jackson walking in with a girl standing behind him. Morrell glances over, humming to herself. "Class, this is Lydia Martin. She's new here, so make her feel welcome." The teacher gestured to the back of the classroom. "If you would take a seat in front of Mr. Lahey, that would be appreciated," Morrell instructed. "Isaac, raise your hand."

 

Isaac slumped in his seat and timidly raised his hand.

 

"At least you're sitting next to me, but that also means you'll be in front of the dogs," Cora heard Jackson remark quietly to Lydia. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes, willing herself to calm before her anger got ahead of her. When she reopened her eyes, she saw Jackson and his irritating smirk in place as he headed down the aisle parallel to hers.

 

Erica murmured, "That's a record. Didn't take more than 15 seconds for him to get on our nerves."

 

Cora, without looking back, retorts, "Maybe for you. But Whittemore irritates me the moment he walks within a two mile radius of me."

 

Once both Lydia and Jackson are seated, Morrell collects the homework from over the weekend and passes out classwork.

 

Cora, while doing the worksheet, glimpses over at Lydia. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find the girl attractive. From just a sideview, Cora could see defined cheekbones and pouty lips. The thing that made her stand out from most people was her hair. If she were someone who didn't pay enough attention, she would call it red, but no, it definitely wasn't red. It was strawberry blonde, which- in her mind- was _way_ different than red.

 

She takes in the girl's outfit: a plaid skirt, dark blue sweater, thigh high tights, and ankle boots. It was clear that she wasn't the type to wear anything under 200 dollars and that she was the cutesy, princess type who felt entitled to make it clear that she was the best. Though, Cora knew that it wasn't right to judge a book by it's cover, she had a feeling that her judgment was correct seeing the way Jackson was throwing flirty glances at Lydia and how she gave him a smug smile.

 

"Psst," Isaac quietly called her attention, looking pointedly between Lydia and Jackson.

 

Cora nods and pulls out her phone, texting him while keeping an eye on Morrell. She doubts that the teacher would care about them texting in class, though she wants to be safe.

 

Fuckweed: _'Looks like she's getting along well with Whittemore.'_

Cora: _**'No kidding. That's definitely a bad thing, unless she's like Danny.'**_

Fuckweed: _'10 bucks that she'll be fucking Jackson in one of the janitor's closets before the end of the day.'_

 

Her gaze flickered from Lydia, over to Morrell, and back down to her phone.

 

Cora: ** _'She seems more like the type to make him take her on a half date first. So, you're on.'_**

Fuckweed: _'I see you have an optimistic view.'_

Cora: **_'Is it wrong that I don't want her to be the stereotypical popular girl?'_**

Fuckweed: _'No, but I can see that you've got a boner for her and that's what's making you hope that she doesn't put out so quickly.'_

Cora: **_'Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Does it make you think less of me??'_**

Fuckweed: _'Cora, I'm an ass, but I'm not a total dick. Of course it doesn't. I'm just trying to make sure you don't get hurt.'_

Cora: _**'Alright.'**_

Cora: **_'I think we should get back to work. I don't want to get caught.'_**

Fuckweed: _'Right'_

 

Cora would like to say that she was able to ignore the presence of Lydia and completely focus on her work, but that just wasn't the case. Whatever wasn't finished was added to the pile of homework she had to do when she got home and she had barely even gotten halfway done before the bell rang and class was over. She wants to blame the girl, but she knows that'd be stupid and petty because, how could it be Lydia's fault that she's so distracting. Now, if anyone (Isaac) ever asked or inferred that the reason Cora wasn't able to finish her work was a certain strawberry blonde, then Cora would halfheartedly deny it.

 

While waiting outside of the classroom for Isaac, Erica approaches her, a smirk on her face. "So what do you make of the new girl?"

 

Cora shrugs, ignoring the knowing look she receives and stares straight ahead, unconsciously making eye contact with the strawberry blonde in question as Jackson whispered in her ear. She pushed down the inkling of jealousy and sighed, turning away and facing Erica. "She seems like the stereotypical rich girl straight from Beverly Hills, but I don't know, I could be wrong."

 

"Never judge a book by it's cover," murmurs Boyd who seemingly appears out of thin air from behind her. Cora refuses to acknowledge the fact that she slightly flinched when he abruptly joined the conversation.

 

Despite her sharp senses, Boyd was always able to go undetected unless he purposely wanted her to know when he was coming. It made him oddly one of the sneakiest wolves in Beacon Hills even though he was practically the hulk with his intimidating size and aura of danger. He always put on a good show around McCall and his spastic friend, Stilinski. It made for top quality entertainment when Boyd could make the scrawny teen shit his pants without so much as a glance in his direction every time he flirt/let out a snappy one-liner at Erica around him.

 

 Erica scoffs, "Fine, but there's always a 50/50 chance that she'll turn out to fill the shoes of the person we see her as. We predicted Jackson was a gigantic douche, didn't we? And look how that turned out," Erica says loudly on purpose as Jackson walks by them.

 

He stops short and turns around, glaring at Erica. "You wanna say that to me again, Reyes?" Lydia stopped beside him, arms crossed and lips pursed as she observed the scene before her.

 

Cora leans against the lockers and Isaac comes out of the classroom, books in hand and folding a sheet of paper to slip in his back pocket. "Looks like she's doing it again, huh?" He mumbles under his breath, aiming the question at Cora who nods and rolls her eyes.

 

Erica approaches him, head cocked to the side. "Oh, I'm sorry, do you have impaired hearing? I said that you're a gigantic douche, just as we had predicted in the first place," she looks up at him owlishly.

 

Jackson's nostrils flare and his hands clench into fists as he takes a step forward. Cora, a bit alarmed, stands up straight, ready to protect her friend. She doesn't need to do so because Boyd has stepped up, placing himself partially in front of Erica with a hand roughly clapping Jackson on the shoulder. When he speaks, his voice is lower than usual with the possessiveness of his wolf tendencies. "I don't think you'll want to do that, Whittemoore. Don't think I won't go to jail for hurting you if you lay a hand on her." Jackson narrows his eyes, taking a small step back. Boyd doesn't fully lower his hand, but he relaxes a bit.

 

"You're lucky, Reyes. Big Bad Boyd came to your rescue. Must mean his _bitch_ is in heat again," Jackson snarks, turning to walk away. "Come on, Lyd. We don't want you to be late to your next class." Lydia, who's currently assessing each of the teens, gives a small hum. Her eyes land on Cora's, going from suspicion to curiosity as they take her in. Cora takes the chance to get a better look at her. And by  _get a better look at her_ , she means get lost in the green eyes and become fascinated by the plumpness of her lips. Someone (Erica like the ass she is) clears their throat and Cora isn't too sure what to do once their little stare down is snipped short, so she gives a nod with her head and looks to Isaac so they can go to their next class. "Lydia, come on. I don't want you catching whatever diseases they have."

 

Erica raises an eyebrow and takes Boyd's hand in hers, interlacing their fingers. "The only disease she'd get is from you, considering all of the girls who've sat on your dick most likely had chlamydia." The couple breaks off from Isaac and Cora. Lydia gives one last glance to all of them, her sight staying Cora the longest, before she turned on her heel and strolled over to Jackson, flipping her hair in the process.

 

Isaac nudged Cora as they walked side by side to their next class. "And that's how the cookie crumbles, ladies and gentlemen," he said sarcastically, eyeing the people staring at them. "Boyd and Jackson garnered their attention. They're all itching for a good fight."

 

Cora hums in agreement. "Yeah, but then when a real fight breaks out they all shit their pants because the _Big Bad Boyd_ brings out his big guns."

  
"Hey, in their defense, Boyd scares everyone, even _Derek_ of all people when it comes to actual fights. And I'm talking about claws out, eyes glowing, fangs down, the whole shebang, ya know? Derek hesitated to drag him off of that poor deer that one time." A boy- that boy being the infamous Stilinski- overhears their conversation while he's walking in front of them and spins, wide eyed and sputtering into Cora who grips him by the collar and roughly shoves him into one of the lockers right next to her class. "Watch your feet, Stilinski," she growls at him, eyes threatening to flash.

 

Stiles is rubbing his head with a whine while McCall looks on in surprise. "Come on, why'd you have to push me so hard?"

 

"Because you stopped for no reason and purposely ran into me, what the hell did you think I'd do? Hug you?" Cora questioned. The bell rings while she's speaking and Isaac taps her on the arm, gesturing to the classroom where Ms. Kramer is standing in the doorway impatiently tapping her foot as she waits to close the door. Cora lets go of Stiles with a heated glare and enters the classroom, taking a seat in front of her easel and canvas.

 

Stiles comes in a few seconds after she and Isaac are sat down at their stations. Scott isn't with him, so she's pretty sure the sheriff's son will be even more of a pain in the ass now that his friend isn't here to distract him.

 

Stilinski easily gets on her nerves, but she supposes he's better than Jackson or any of his idiot friends, so he has that going in his favor. Plus, as spastic as he can be, Stiles is...interesting to say the least. She's come to notice that he has an strange fascination with her brother, Derek. Though, she tries to avoid talking about him with Stiles and refuses to even think about a possibility of the two of them together as a _couple_. Besides, Derek has been evading relationships and even one night stands ever since he graduated from high school, opting to not fall in love in attempt to steer clear of another heartbreak.

 

She's in the middle of starting the framework of her assignment- a portrait of you or someone close to you- when Cora's attention is captured by Stilinski, who's not-so-quietly calling out to her from his seat behind someone to her left. " _Psssssst...Hale....PsSSSSt....Cora._.." Okay, so he's lost half of his brownie points for not being another Jackson.

 

Isaac tried to hide his smile, but failed in his attempt. She punched him in the shoulder and gave a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping slightly in defeat as she turned around to confront Stiles. "What do you want, Stilinski?" She asked him in a hushed tone.

 

"Do you guys actually, like, hunt shit down and kill them with your bare hands...and fangs? Or were you just joking earlier when you said that Boyd mauled a deer and Derek had to drag him off of it. 'Cuz, I have a feeling you weren't joking, but I don't know what the Hale version of humor is, ya know? And why was Jackson close to starting something with Boy-" Cora held up a hand to cut off his rambling, the beginning of a headache would be coming on if she didn't stop him and a grumpier than usual Cora wasn't something anyone wanted to deal with.

 

"Stiles, do me a favor?"

 

The boy looked at her in suspicion. "Yeeaaahh...?" He drew the word out in that obnoxious way that Cora hates.

 

"Shut the hell up and let me finish my art." With that said, Cora promptly swiveled back around to face her project. "Finally," she mutters under her breath.

 

"Don't tell me _Stiles_ of all people is replacing my place as designated best friend," Isaac gives a shit eating grin as he details his portrait.

 

Cora scoffed. "Designated best friend? Who said it was even you?"

 

"Ouch, Hale. No need to fatally wound my sensitive heart," he feigns hurt.

 

"As I told Stilinski, shut the hell up and let me finish my art," Cora's brow furrows in concentration as she navigates her pencil across the paper. "Can't get anything done without someone getting on my nerves in this stupid school," she grumbles.


	5. From Friend to Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don't have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation.”   
>  ― Whoopi Goldberg

Cora despises when she's not busy. Having work means she can think about problems and ways to answer the questions, being around people (Isaac, Boyd, and Erica) means she can focus on talking to them and observing them or others around them, and watching TV or surfing the internet means she can distract herself from her own thoughts in that mindless, hypnotic kind of way. She hates being alone in general because she doesn't have anything to do and instead of her brain honing in on anything else, she has to deal with the constant aching feeling of rejection. So, yeah, she tends to try and not keep to herself.

 

When she was younger, she used to be fine alone, but her time alone was spent in the woods surrounding her home with a book to keep her thoughts from branching into that then uncharted territory.

 

Cora had always felt like the odd one out of her family and had never really known just why it was she felt like that. She still didn't and probably wouldn't figure it out for a while. Although she didn't necessarily fit in with the rest of her family, when she had met Boyd, Isaac, and Erica, she easily felt included...most of the time. It wasn't their fault, it was just that she had the tendency to space out and at times just quit talking in the middle of a conversation. She's pretty sure Isaac has a clue of why she does that and Erica and Boyd are probably catching on by now.

 

It's not as if she doesn't try. She really does. She just gets in...slumps and at times those slumps will go on for days on end, sometimes weeks.

 

Cora will never actually ask for help. That'd make her weaker than she already is in the eyes of her family and she can't afford that. So, she looks for outlets on her own. Before it was reading and currently it's providing herself with some form of entertainment. Yet, she feels that TV and the internet won't be much help for long.

 

"Whatcha thinkin' bout, Hale?" Stilinski is the one (God knows why) who pulled her out of her thoughts. It's safe to say that he's been more than grating on her nerves for the past hour. "Ah, c'mon, don't ignore me now. It seems like you don't like me." He shovels a spork full of pees into his mouth, obnoxiously crunching loudly on them.

 

"Good. I _don't_ like you, now leave me be," Cora growls, pushing her mashed potatoes around with her spoon. The food here tastes like shit and she can't figure out how Stiles isn't coughing the greenish-grey peas up into a trash bin right now. She glances over at his plate and sees that his food actually looks eatable compared to her bleak and nasty plateful. "What the hell...? How do you of all people get edible food while the rest of us get pig slop?"

 

Stiles pauses his eating, a spoon hanging from his mouth. He looks down and his cheeks become tinged with pink as he slowly chews and swallows his food. "Uhh...yeah. That. My dad makes sure I get decent food, which means I was kind of forced to befriend the lunch lady. I don't mind it though, she's pretty cool and knows a lot about Star Wars unlike Scott who can't even tell the difference from the prequels and the original trilogy. I mean, come on it's not that hard to-"

 

"Stilinski. Rambling again. Quit it," Cora snaps.

 

He nods. "Right. My bad."

 

"Stiles Stilinski, to what to I owe the pleasure of you blessing us with your presence?" Erica questions.

 

 "'Tis nothing you owe, my dear Batgirl. I'm just trying to get on Cora's good side here and maybe have a conversation with my favorite she-wolf." He turns to Cora, giving her a grin. "Also, Scott is off making out with Allison somewhere. You know, the whole _Romeo_ _and_ _Juliet_ thing. Really didn't want to third wheel while eating lunch with that."

 

Isaac, Boyd, and Erica take their seats across from she and Stiles. All three looking quite amused with Cora looking irritated sitting next to Stiles.

 

"Gross. It's bad enough we deal with Boyd and Erica on a daily basis. Don't think I could handle another pair of lovebirds around all the time," Isaac quips, earning a glare from Erica and a small huff from a disinterested Boyd.

 

"Are you guys going to Danny's on Saturday?" Stiles questions. Cora can detect hope shadowing his words.

 

Erica shrugs. "Boyd and I might go, but only if Isaac and Cora do." She smirks, "But miss Hale here is afraid of the big bad jock boys."

 

Cora feigns offense. "Excuse me, I am not afraid of them. I just don't see the point of going if we'll just get ridiculed. Plus, I don't even know if I'd be able to leave the house. Grounded remember?"

 

"Alright, guess we're not going after all," Erica says, examining her nails. "I guess you won't want to go even though Lydia will be there." She mumbles it. Regular human ears wouldn't be able to hear it, but Cora can easily pick up what she's implying.

 

"Erica, stop." Cora glares at her.

 

The blonde's eyes flicker up to her face and she blinks owlishly, giving the appearance of innocence, false innocence. "What? All I said was I guess we're not going." Cora can tell she's holding back a smile.

 

 _Asshole_ , Cora thinks to herself. "Yeah, okay."

 

Stiles looks between the too in confusion. "Okay...don't know what just happened but whatever. If you guys change your mind, just let me know and I can give you a ride to the party."

 

Erica spots something behind the two across from her and she perks up, as does Isaac, which Cora found a bit odd. "Well, look who's coming our way right now. The notorious Mr. Danny Mahellahottie."

 

Cora turns back to see Danny with one strap of his backpack on his shoulder and a wholehearted smile on his face, dimples and everything. He blushes, shuffling in place. "Flattery won't get you into my pants, Reyes."

 

Erica pouts, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Don't go breaking my heart like that, Danny. I don't think I'll be able to stand the pain any longer if you keep doing that."

 

"Sorry, but you know I swing for the other team. Or in this case, toss for the other team." He rolls his eyes as she shakes her head and nods to Boyd, who gives a grunt of acknowledgment. "So, Cora, Stilinski, Isaac, are you guys coming to my party on Saturday?"

 

Isaac speaks up for the first time since arriving. "We were just talking about that. But sadly, it's likely a no. Cora's grounded and you know how we all are."

 

Danny's smile dims a bit at that. "Oh, well, maybe next time I guess."

 

"Well, I mean, they might not go, but I sure as hell am," Stiles says enthusiastically.

 

"Cool, just try not to get too drunk, Stiles. You remember what happened last time," he warns him. Danny glances at the rest of them at the table. "Ahh, do you guys mind if I take a seat here? Jackson was too preoccupied with trying to _whoo_ Lydia and the other guys would only talk about what they're going to do at my party."

 

"Of course. Finally got bored of your vanilla peers I see," Erica states. "We're much more vibrant and interesting than them anyways."

 

Cora, like most everyone in the school, actually liked Danny. He was kind and didn't treat her or her friends like Jackson or others did. Yet, he tended to allow Jackson to follow him wherever he went, trailing the guy like a puppy with it's owner. She supposed that's how she and Isaac were too. Wherever he went, she tried to go too and vice versa. It made sense considering Jackson _was_ Danny's best friend. She guaranteed that since Danny were there, Jackson would most likely be on his way over. 

 

"Danny." And it seemed Cora wasn't wrong. "Why are you over here with the mutts?" Jackson has his arm wrapped around Lydia's waist and a sour expression on his face as he examines the scene before him.

 

"Jackson, seriously?" Danny frowns at the boy in disappointment. "C'mon, don't be a dick to them. I don't see anything wrong with hanging out with others that aren't our usual crowd."

 

"Well, I'm sorry if I worry for the well being of my best friend. But you know you could easily turn from _friend_ to food with them in a second." Cora huffs out a low chuckle at his dramatics. Jackson's eyes flicker to her. "What's so funny to you, Hale?"

 

She smirks. "Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic? If we wanted to _eat_ him, we'd have done that years ago. We're not cannibals."

 

"You're right. You're not cannibals, because being cannibals would require you to be the same species as the thing you eat," he snarks.

 

Erica lays her chin on the top of her hand. "Oh, fuck _off_ , Whittemoore. Worry about yourself instead of Danny. He's a big boy who can take care of himself."

 

"Jackson, just go back to the table. Lunch is almost over anyways." He's attempting to keep things pacified so it doesn't get out of hand.

 

"Yes, let's please just go back, I left my bag at the table anyways." It's the first time they've heard Lydia speak.

 

Cora doesn't like to be corny, but if she were (which she's most definitely not), she'd say that her voice was the most beautiful thing she's ever heard. From the corner of her eye, she sees Isaac move and she's pretty sure he's raising an eyebrow at her.

 

"So, she does speak? I was beginning to worry he'd taken you against your will or something," Erica tilts her head at the girl. "If he is, blink twice to give me a yes."

 

Jackson scoffs. "Shut up, Reyes." He moves to sit down next to Danny. Lydia sighs and follows suit. "I'm lucky I got my vaccinations."

 

Cora gets up, sliding her backpack over her shoulders and grabbing her tray of partially eaten food. "Well, I'm out of here." She looks to Isaac. "You coming or no?"

 

"Yeah. Let's go." He follows her out, waving to their friends.

 

Moments after she and Isaac are out of the cafeteria, they hear the clack of heels hitting the ground rhythmically. She glances behind her, spotting Lydia a few yards behind the two. Cora slows in front of the bathroom, as does Lydia. "Wait for me, Isaac." He nods and leans against the wall, pulling his phone out.

 

Cora feels a bit self conscious when she's in the stall and she hopes that the girl will leave right after she's out of the stall, but was disappointed when she comes out to see Lydia touching up her makeup. (Cora thinks she doesn't really need all that makeup considering how pretty she is.)

 

As Cora is washing her hands, she hears, "So are you and him dating?"

 

Cora is taken aback. "What?" She asks as she turns the water off and goes to dry her hands.

 

"You know, _him_. Curly haired boy. Isaac. Are the two of you dating?"

 

Cora cocks her head in confusion, not seeing how she could think that they'd be dating. "No. We're just friends...Why do you ask?"

 

Lydia hums, putting her things back and slipping the straps of her purse over her shoulder. "No reason, just curious. You two seemed pretty close." With nothing else said, she past Cora and out the door, leaving Cora still confused and slightly flustered.

 

"What the fuck...?" She mutters to herself as she leaves. Isaac falls into a steady pace to her next class with her, the bell ringing as they go on their way. "Lydia thought we were dating."

 

Isaac chuckles. "Well I mean, I am irresistible. Wouldn't be surprised if you had the hots for me."

 

Cora punches him in the shoulder. "Shut up."

 

"Relax, we both know who you really want to bone." He smirks, annoying her.

 

"You're not funny," she says.

 

"Wasn't trying to be." His phone buzzes and he slides it into his pocket, gripping the straps of his backpack. "I think I'm going to the try outs for Lacrosse after school."

 

She grins. "Did Danny and his assets convince you to finally try out?"

 

"You're not funny."

 

"Wasn't trying to be," she echoes his earlier words. "No, but seriously what made you decide to try out?"

 

"Boyd and I have been talking about it for a while. And a lot of the neighboring schools are starting to allow werewolves on their teams, so it wouldn't be fair if we didn't have any on our team. Considering the enhanced senses and all that, ya know?" He shrugs. "Do you think you can stay for a bit after school? Tell your mom you have to makeup a test or something."

 

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you after school." They depart from each other at her class entrance.

 

The rest of the day went by quickly. Cora had to endure another class with Stilinski and his right hand McCall as well as Lydia. Though, Lydia sat at the front of the class and Cora in the back which made concentrating on classwork easier than last time. After school ended, she met up with Erica to sit on the bleachers and watch try outs for the team. It seemed fate really did hate her. She and Erica sat a couple of rows away from Lydia and Allison Argent, the niece of the crazy aunt who attempted to kill her entire family 2 years previous.

 

Cora hadn't really had a problem with the girl until last year, where she almost killed her with a bow and arrow while she and Laura were off on a jog around town. Her excuse was that she didn't see her, but Cora suspects her _accident_ was on purpose.

 

 _"...you did what now?"_ She and Erica hear from Lydia.

 

"Daddy's girl came to watch McCutie. How sweet." Erica's word's drip with sarcasm. "I assume you're still not forgiving her for that steel tipped arrow to the stomach?" She asks. Cora lifts her shirt up and shows the ragged and ugly looking scar marring her smooth skin. "Ouchie. I forgot it never fully healed." Erica chuckles. "You have an observer," she whispers. Lydia turns around to face the field right as Cora's eyes fall on her. "I still don't quite understand _why_ she had wolfsbane coated arrows. It's not like any of us are going to go after her."

 

"It wasn't even just the arrow head. She had it coating every fucking inch of the arrow and there was even a little bit of mistletoe on the tip," Cora says bitterly, glaring at the sky as she lets her shirt fall.

 

"Greenburg! Stop messing around!" Coach Finstock is yelling at Greenburg again which isn't much of a surprise. "Go get the ball or I'll bench you!" He blows the whistle, calling in boys. "Alright, we're going to do- whoa...don't think I've ever seen you try out before. What's your name?"

 

"Boyd."

 

Erica's face lights up and she sits up straighter. "He's going to make the team, they both are. I'm sure of it," she states.

 

"I want you to go up against...Carnie. We're doing singles. Separate yourselves into two separate groups and set up on each side of the center. Boyd and Carnie, you're up first," Finstock orders. "Danny and Peter, you two play goalie."

 

The player Coach sets Boyd up with is a little bit shorter than him, but just as bulky. He spits out his gum onto the sideline and watches Boyd's every move as he slides his helmet over his head. Boyd bounces his arms and cracks his neck, sliding his helmet on as well. The two take their positions across from each other, the nets touching the ground and bodies tense. To their sides, the rest of the boys were watching, cheering on for Carnie. Finstock blew his whistle and both went after the ball. Boyd scooped it up into his net and collided with Carnie, with the other boy being pushed onto his back with a loud thump. Boyd jogged lightly over to the goal and faked out Danny, the ball hitting the net.

 

Coach clapped, whooping and going over to clap Boyd on the shoulder. "If you can do stuff like that throughout the entirety of the try out, you've got a spot on the team." Boyd walked back to the group, fist bumping Isaac.

 

"Oh yeah, he's definitely going to make the team," Cora agrees.

 

The singles go on until everyone's had a chance to go, with Isaac effortlessly getting through. Though, instead of going head on like Boyd, he opted to scoop up the ball and slip past the opposing player with no contact and shoot it into the net. The try outs ended with splitting them into two teams and playing a mock game. Cora was a bit surprised by Stiles and how well he was when he played with Scott despite the fact that he had tripped at least three times during the shooting practice.

 

Scott and Jackson were facing off in the center, ready to begin. Coach Finstock blew his whistle again and the game started. Jackson takes off with the ball, weaving through the offense and heading for the defense. He's close to the goal and about to shoot when Isaac and Boyd come at him from both sides, with Isaac hitting him in his legs on one side and Boyd hitting him on his torso on the other. Jackson lands hard on his side, groaning in pain. One of the other boys on their team takes the ball, and gets backed up by Boyd and Isaac while Scott and Stiles hang back and defend the goal. The boy passes it to Isaac, then passes it back to the boy who shoots and scores a goal.

 

Cora winces. Below them, Allison and Lydia gasp. Erica stands up and cheers, pumping her fists in the air wildly. "Yeah Boyd! Go Isaac! You kicked his _ass_!"

 

"Yes! Yes, good teamwork, guys! Great work! _That_ is what I want to see out on the field," Coach praises, clapping his hands together.

 

Isaac and Boyd clash their helmets together, jogging over to Scott and Stiles and giving them high fives, all getting back into their positions. The mock game continued on for around 20 more minutes until the score was 9-12, Boyd's team winning. Finstock called off the game, gathering all of the guys up.

 

"Results will be posted tomorrow during lunch. If you make the team then come to my office the day after tomorrow and I'll assign you numbers and have you pay for jersey's. If you don't make the team, then don't come crying to me the next day about how you should have made the team because my mind will already be made up," Coach says. "You're all dismissed. Go get cleaned up in the locker room." As they're all walking off the field, Finstock stops Isaac and Boyd from leaving. "You guys had beautiful chemistry out there. I've already put you two down for spots on the team, so just come visit me in my office tomorrow and I can get you guys situated." He shook their hands. "I look forward to having you on the team."

 

Erica looks to Cora, genuinely smiling. "Told you they'd make it." She pulls Cora down the stairs of the bleachers, and runs into Boyd's arms. He lifts her up, holding her by the bottom of her thighs.

 

Cora pulls a face of distaste and turns instead to congratulate Isaac. "Nice job, Fuckweed. I knew you'd make the team."

 

He grins back. "C'mon...give Lahey a hug."

 

"Oof!" She's pulled into his embrace and hesitantly wraps her arms around his waist, while also leaning away from him. "Gross, you smell like a gym bag." He hugs her tighter. "Let go, Frankenstein. You're going to leave your stench on me if I'm in this hug any longer."

 

"You know you loved it, Hale. My boyish charm fully makes up for my stink." He let's her go, glancing at Boyd and Erica currently making out. "Let's go, Boyd. You can make out with her when we're done getting dressed and cleaned up."

 

"Yes, please go shower and dress. We'll meet you guys at the car," Cora pleads. She drags Erica away to the mostly empty parking lot. Both sit on the bumper of the truck.

 

"You're favorite Argent's on her way over, along with the redhead you've got a hard-on for." Erica pops in a piece of gum. Allison's shiny, black Toyota Camry is parked a space away from Boyd's pickup.

 

Cora sighs heavily. "Please don't..."

 

"Hey, Argent! You're boy did good in the try outs today." Erica drums her fingers on the metal of the bumper.

 

Allison and Lydia walk over to she and Cora, Allison with a forced smile on her face and Lydia looking bored. "Yep, he did. Boyd did pretty good too. I'm sure you're proud."

 

She pops a bubble, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "You're damn right I am. My guy is going to be the best on the team."

 

Allison smiles at Cora, her perfectly flawless face irritating the Hale to know end. "Hi, Cora. Haven't seen you in a while."

 

Cora feigns a smile back. "Hm. Yeah. I've been kinda keeping my distance. You know. Bows and arrows and things."

 

"Okay, look I'm really sorry about that still. But that was last year. Can we please just make up and get over this?" Her tone sounds genuine and Cora is close to accepting her apology and calling a truce, but...

 

"Seriously? You want me to get over the fact that I had to go to the hospital after being shot with a fatally poisoned arrow?" Cora scoffs. "I guess you're aunt isn't the only mental one in your family."

 

Erica makes a hissing noise. "That has _got_ to sting."

 

Allison's expression hardens. "I'd prefer if you didn't speak about my family like that."

 

"Allison, let's just go back to your place, I have to finish homework and study," Lydia convinces her.

 

"Yeah..." The brunette forces a smile at both of them. "It was nice seeing you. Sorry, again about the accident, Cora."

 

"Accident. Okay, bye." Cora gives a mock wave and folds her arms over her chest. Lydia gives her a lingering look before walking to Allison's car.

 

A few moments after the two had left, Isaac and Boyd emerged from the school. Boyd unlocked the truck, Erica hopped in the front passenger seat and Isaac and Cora took their seats in the back.

 

"You guys missed it. Cora totally burned Argent," Erica bragged, taking Boyd's hand in hers.

 

Boyd sighed. "Who started it?"

 

"Erica did," Cora blurts out.

 

Erica turns to face her, glaring heatedly at her. "Bitch. You get some sick pleasure out of tattling, don't you?"

 

"Erica, be careful around her. You know how she and her family are," Boyd cautions worriedly.

 

"Babe, don't worry. I can take care of myself and she wouldn't stand a chance against me," she says cockily.

 

"Promise you'll be careful. For me," he pleads with her.

 

She groans when she looks at her face and pecks him on the cheek. "Alright, fine. For you. Now let's hurry up and get Cora back to Mama Hale."

 

"Sounds good to me," Cora says.

 

"Yeah, then we can have fun without her," Isaac quips.

 

"Shut up." Cora slaps him on the arm and pulls out her phone to text her mother as they drive off to Cora's house.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't know if I should continue this or not...feedback??


End file.
